Japan Mint

nihongo|Japan Mint|独立行政法人 造幣局|Dokuritsu-Gyōsei-Hōin Zōheikyoku is an Incorporated Administrative Agency of the Japanese government. This agency has its Head office in Osaka with branches in Tokyo and Hiroshima.

Mission

The Japan Mint maintains an informational web presence in both Japanese and English. The mission of the agency is concisely presented in English at this on-line venue:

::To supply coins with counterfeit-resistance and uniformity in standard and quality at a reasonable price in a stable and solid manner.

::To distribute commemorative coins symbolizing the culture of Japan and numismatic coin sets manufactured with innovative techniques and creative designs with the aim of meeting the various demands of the general public.

::To manufacture orders and medals of honor with grace and dignity using our skilled techniques in order to praise the awardees for their achievements and to supply appealing products to the general public by manufacturing sophisticated and beautiful metallic art objects.

::To be engaged in fineness certification, refining and analysis and testing services as a public entity with highly advanced and reliable technology.

::Through accomplishing the above, we would like to keep the public confidence in coinage and make a contribution to the improvement of living standard of the general public.

History

Amongst the first acts of the Meiji government was the establishment of a Japan Mint as a constructive step towards modernizing Japan's circulating currency. In the early Meiji era, paper currency was initially printed in Germany. The European production was inspected and sealed by Banknote Annex Office of the Ministry of Finance. A proposal to construct a banknote manufacturing plant was submitted to Grand Council of State in May, 1874; and construction was approved in December of that same year. A two-story Western red brick building was completed in October, 1876. [National Archives of Japan, Digital Gallery website: " [Drawings] Japan Mint"]

Over the course of decades, Mint activities have expanded to include: the production of orders (decorations), medals of honor and metallic art objects; the analysis and testing of metal ores and minerals; and the fineness certification of precious metal wares (hallmarking).

The Mint became an Incorporated Administrative Agency on April 1, 2003.

Osaka Head Office

* 1871: After an inaugural ceremony was held in Kawasaki, the actual work of minting coins began. The mint's work was urgently necessary to rectify confusion over coins which was a recurrent feature of the Tokugawa period. [National Archives of Japan, Digital Gallery website: "Photograph of Osaka Mint Opening Ceremony"] [http://jpimg.digital.archives.go.jp/kouseisai/category/photo/osaka_ceremony_e.html -- see photograph of opening ceremonies from Japan National Archives]

Tokyo Branch

* 1879: This branch of the Mint was set up in the Ministry of Finance building. The primary function of this office was to accept gold and silver to be made into coins which would then be returned to the bearer; however the sub-branch was abolished in 1907.
* 1929: The branch is established at Kojimachi-ku. The primary function of this office focused on certifying the fineness certification of precious metal wares.
* 1939: The branch moved to the present address in Toshima-ku to enable the expansion of its operations.

Hiroshima Branch

* 1942: The construction of a minting plant in Hiroshima Prefecture was decided with the aim of minting coins in Japan for various Southeast Asian countries.
* 1945: The minting of coins was initially begun in February; but production was stopped later in that year.
* 1946: Operations resumed at the present address.
* 1948: The branch becomes capable of managing the entire coinage process.

tandards

Japan Mint has sought bring its operations within an ambit proposed by the International Standard for Quality Management System (the "ISO"). The Japan Mint web site provide more information about what ISO means in the context of a national mint operations:

::1. Scope of Registration for ISO 9001 and ISO 14001::::* The design/development and production of coins and coin sets:::* The design/development and production of orders, metallic art objects, etc.:::* The design/development and production of orders, metallic art objects, etc.:::* The design/development and service provision of the refinement and fineness certification of precious metals (including precious metal wares) and the analysis of metal ores and minerals:::* The sales planning and sales of coin sets and metallic art objects::2. Certification Body: Japan Quality Assurance Organization::3. Certified International Standards::::Quality Management System):::ISO 9001:2000/JISQ 9001:2000:::(Environmental Management System):::ISO 14001:2004/JISQ 14001:2004::4. Effective Date::::(Quality Management System):::Registration Date: March 7, 2003:::Last Renewal Date: March 7, 2006:::Expiry Date: March 6, 2009:::(Environmental Management System):::Registration Date: December 22, 2005:::Expiry Date: December 21, 2008::5. Certificate Number::::(Quality Management System) JQA-QM9665:::(Environmental Management System):::JQA-EM5105

References

See also

* Independent Administrative Institution (IAI), 2001
* Ministry of Finance (Japan)
* Japanese Yen
* Double-entry bookkeeping-- 1st introduced at Japan Mint in 1870s [ [http://www.mint.go.jp/eng/guide/history.html Japan Mint Guide History: Japan Mint ] ]

External links

* [http://www.mint.go.jp/eng/index.html Japan Mint English web site]
* [http://jpimg.digital.archives.go.jp/kouseisai/category/drawing/shihei_e.html National Archives of Japan, Digital Gallery] , see documents and images relating to Meiji era mint
* [http://www.money.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=2411 Building a national currency (1868-1899)]